Operation Cedar Falls

Operation Cedar Falls was a US-ARVN military operation of the Vietnam War which occurred from 8 to 26 January 1967.

The operation involved placing a cordon around the so-called "Iron Triangle" area north of Saigon, a major Viet Cong stronghold. In the largest US operation of the war, two US Army divisions, one infantry and one paratrooper brigade, and one armored cavalry regiment participated in the operation. After the US forces surrounded the Iron Triangle, helicopter-borne forces then secured and searched the area within the cordon for signs of enemy bases and tunnel complexes. The US and ARVN forces completely deported the area's civilian population in order to turn it into a "free-ire zone", and 720 communists were killed and 218 were captured. The military saw the operation as a success, but the Viet Cong's setback was only temporary, as the harsh treatment of civilians by the US and ARVN forces drove many local villagers into the Viet Cong ranks.